Ashton Kutcher has launched a new deal with cybercurrency banking company Ripple by donating $4 million to pal Ellen DeGeneres’ new Wildlife Fund.
The actor, who is a neighbor of the comedienne, surprised Ellen on her daytime chat show on Wednesday by gifting her the huge amount with the touch of a button on his cellphone.
Kutcher revealed the generous hand-out was part of the launch of a deal with Ripple owners he and his Sound Ventures tech fund partner Guy Oseary had set up after hearing how they wanted to help a needy charity enterprise.
Kutcher and Madonna’s longtime manager Oseary, who joined the actor on Ellen’s show, explained she had reached out to both of them after learning her wife, Portia de Rossi, had set up The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund to save and study the endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda, asking for their help with the ambitious project.
Explaining that Ripple is a platform that “allows people to transfer money from bank account to bank account, person to person really securely, really simply, and really quickly”, Ashton added, “(Guy and I told the Ripple bosses) there’s this amazing human being and all they ever do is think about other people they can give to… and we wanted to show you that people are thinking about you.”
Announcing the $4 million gift, he added, “Usually people come out with the big giant cheque… but we can actually transfer it into Rwandan francs right now, right here…”
Clearly emotional, the Finding Dory star pressed the relevant screen key on her friend’s phone and the funds were transferred immediately.
She will be visiting the site of her new gorilla sanctuary for the first time next month when she and actress Portia visit Rwanda during an African vacation.
Kutcher ended the big surprise by casually stating, “Have a great vacation.”